Today was another harvest day. We have had an incredible amount of rain over the last few days, causing the fields to become quite muddy. This combined with our superior weeding last week led to the possibility that we may not be able to harvest today. Had this happened, it would have been the first time in the farm’s history that shareholders were unable to get their product on time. Fortunately the fields dried out enough and the rain stayed away and we were able to get into the field.
The physical strain from this amount of physical labor is still being felt today.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday – Jun 18
Today was a fairly short day due to the impending storm. We spent the morning harvesting broccoli and then moved to pounding in fence posts and caging tomatoes.
I did learn an important lesson about wild parsnip. Wild parsnip is an invasive species (weed) found abundantly on the farm. This weed has a defense mechanism, causing phytophotodermatitis to the skin. If a person where to brush up against the plant, they may receive chemical burns including blistering. This is caused when the juice from the plant attaches to the DNA of the skin and begins to break it down. The “photo” part of the phytophotodermatitis comes from the fact that the sun is the trigger for the breakdown of the skin cells. This will be important for me to remember as I take my students out to the field for future fieldtrips.
Finally, it is Friday and I am exhausted. I am sure that I will become stronger and find ways to make the job less taxing on my body, but for today, I am ready for a break for my body.
I did learn an important lesson about wild parsnip. Wild parsnip is an invasive species (weed) found abundantly on the farm. This weed has a defense mechanism, causing phytophotodermatitis to the skin. If a person where to brush up against the plant, they may receive chemical burns including blistering. This is caused when the juice from the plant attaches to the DNA of the skin and begins to break it down. The “photo” part of the phytophotodermatitis comes from the fact that the sun is the trigger for the breakdown of the skin cells. This will be important for me to remember as I take my students out to the field for future fieldtrips.
Finally, it is Friday and I am exhausted. I am sure that I will become stronger and find ways to make the job less taxing on my body, but for today, I am ready for a break for my body.
Thursday – Jun 17
Today we harvested for the Thursday share. I now believe that lettuce is probably one of my least favorite things to harvest. The lettuce is bunched together and has to be carefully examined to find leaves that are not damaged due to insects or rotting. I will have to adjust to this type of patient work because I am used to moving around the classroom at a quick pace.
Another aspect of the job that I have had to adjust to is the schedule. During the school year, the kids arrive, switch classes and leave at the same time. This schedule is something I can depend on and find quite comforting. On the farm it does not work that way. We are very weather and task dependant. If there is a storm or vegetables, which need to be harvested, we work around that schedule and not on one that is set ahead of time. So far I have not worked a day where we end on the predetermined time. This is defiantly part of the job I will have to learn to adjust.
Although the schedule may be different, I do enjoy leaving my work on the farm. When teaching, I am always bringing work home. I am not able to leave school at school, whether it is work to grade, plans to make, or students to ponder. When I leave the farm, I am done, and that is pretty nice.
Another aspect of the job that I have had to adjust to is the schedule. During the school year, the kids arrive, switch classes and leave at the same time. This schedule is something I can depend on and find quite comforting. On the farm it does not work that way. We are very weather and task dependant. If there is a storm or vegetables, which need to be harvested, we work around that schedule and not on one that is set ahead of time. So far I have not worked a day where we end on the predetermined time. This is defiantly part of the job I will have to learn to adjust.
Although the schedule may be different, I do enjoy leaving my work on the farm. When teaching, I am always bringing work home. I am not able to leave school at school, whether it is work to grade, plans to make, or students to ponder. When I leave the farm, I am done, and that is pretty nice.
Wednesday – Jun 16
I finally decided on the intellectual aspect of this externship. I have been struggling with how to take what I am learning and turn it around to a product, which is both useful for the classroom and for this job. Here is my proposal:
I will create a website, which can be used both by Laura and in the classroom.
Title: From Production to Plate: The Journey of Locally Grown Food.
This website could include the following:
1. A flowchart showing the processes that occur while from deciding what and how much will be planted to the end when the food makes it to the customer. Within this flowchart I will also have detailed explanations of each of the steps (the who, what, where…)
2. A calendar, which shows what has to occur each month on the farm for a productive harvest.
3. Pictures of each of the events to go along with the above items.
4. I will visit and speak with each type of the recipients of the food from Laura’s farm: Shareholders, food banks, and Metro High School students and faculty.
5. Finally I will include the tidbits of interesting information I pick-up along the way.
I am sure this project will change and grow as my experience change on the farm.
I will create a website, which can be used both by Laura and in the classroom.
Title: From Production to Plate: The Journey of Locally Grown Food.
This website could include the following:
1. A flowchart showing the processes that occur while from deciding what and how much will be planted to the end when the food makes it to the customer. Within this flowchart I will also have detailed explanations of each of the steps (the who, what, where…)
2. A calendar, which shows what has to occur each month on the farm for a productive harvest.
3. Pictures of each of the events to go along with the above items.
4. I will visit and speak with each type of the recipients of the food from Laura’s farm: Shareholders, food banks, and Metro High School students and faculty.
5. Finally I will include the tidbits of interesting information I pick-up along the way.
I am sure this project will change and grow as my experience change on the farm.
Tuesday – Jun 15
Today was a weeding blitz on the garden. With the rain and warmer temperature comes quick growth of weeds. We were unfortunately cut short by rain today.
Laura, the owner of the CSA, is both a farmer and an environmentalist. Although you might assume that the two go hand-in-hand, they often do not. Tiling, a practice where the water from the field is quickly drained and placed in a near by waterway, is often used on farms in Iowa. Although tiling allows farmers to plant more of their field, it also causes an increase in river levels that may lead to flooding. Laura has found a way to combat this problem by altering the tiling system on her farm. She removed some of the original tiling and then redirected other tiles into a wetland she created. Although this effort was difficult for her, she has helped to slow down or prevent flooding down stream.
Laura, the owner of the CSA, is both a farmer and an environmentalist. Although you might assume that the two go hand-in-hand, they often do not. Tiling, a practice where the water from the field is quickly drained and placed in a near by waterway, is often used on farms in Iowa. Although tiling allows farmers to plant more of their field, it also causes an increase in river levels that may lead to flooding. Laura has found a way to combat this problem by altering the tiling system on her farm. She removed some of the original tiling and then redirected other tiles into a wetland she created. Although this effort was difficult for her, she has helped to slow down or prevent flooding down stream.
Monday – Jun 14
Today was day one on the farm. The day started with a cool rain followed by a warmer humid day. Mondays are harvest day for the Monday shareholders. We spend the majority of Monday and Thursdays gathering foods that are ready for harvest.
My final project of the day was to spray BT on the broccoli and cabbage so we can remove any pests infecting the plants. BT is a bacterial, which is ingested by the insects. Once ingested, the bacteria cause the pest’s gut to explode. This product will not affect humans because we have an enzyme that breaks down the bacteria. In addition, the bacteria are photosensitive so after 2 hours be being exposed to the sun the bacteria break down.
I have not yet determined the intellectual aspect of this externship. I am simply struggling right now to keep up with the physical aspects of the job and trying to learn day-to-day operations.
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